Reported by BBC Business
The UK and EU have agreed a draft deal on removing post-Brexit checks from food and agriculture exports, ahead of the UK-EU summit later this month.
The BBC understands the 200-page draft text for this so called "SPS" [sanitary and phytosanitary] agreement has been circulated to EU nations in Brussels for consideration at a meeting on Wednesday.
Similar texts for deals on emissions trading and a youth travel and work scheme have also been circulated alongside a 15-page draft joint statement for UK and EU top leaders.
More from the original report
The food deal is the most significant part of the so-called Brexit reset agreed so far, removing checks and red tape that hit exporters after the UK exited the EU's single market.
The deal should remove the need for £200 Export Health Certificates, £25 Phytosanitary certificates, inspector fees, organic certificates, some port fees, sampling fees and other checks for exports and imports to and from the EU.
The government claims the UK economy will eventually see £5.1bn worth of annual benefits.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen with Prime Minister Andy Burnham
UK exports to the EU of fresh sausages, burgers, shellfish from domestic waters and seed potatoes will also be able to resume.
The agreement will also allow for passports for UK pets taken into the EU.
Under the agreement the UK will commit to observing and adapting to existing EU regulations on plant, animal and food trade standards. This process is called "dynamic alignment".
While UK rules remain mostly aligned with EU ones, there are some areas where England has diverged from the EU rule book, for example on "precision breeding" of plants, previously known as gene editing. In recent weeks, agreement has been struck on transition arrangements while the EU's new regulations come in to force.
The government has already announced a European Partnerships Bill which will provide a legal mechanism for the application of new EU rules and regulations. This will also allow for the necessary alignments for the linking of the UK emissions trading scheme with the EU's, and save the need for UK exporters to pay…